Zongman: Don't move, Aisi, your family still owes me money

Gunfire rang out.

The next moment, a fireball the size of a human head flew towards the big tree at an astonishing speed.

"Pfft."

A charred hole was smashed directly into the trunk of the tree, and sparks were still burning at the edge of the hole.

A few seconds later, the big tree fell to the ground.

Deathly silence enveloped the open space.

After seeing this scene, Hephaestus and Welf were shocked.

"They actually used magic, a fireball!" Welf's eyes widened. "This power is like a magic sword!"

However, Hephaestus was only surprised for a moment and quickly calmed down.

"It's power is indeed comparable to that of an ordinary magic sword, but this magic spear's power is more than just that."

Hephaestus said as she turned to look at Merlin with a reassuring smile on her face.

She clearly remembered that Merlin had said that if it was used in the workshop, the workshop would be destroyed.

The power of the fireball just now was far from that level.

"Sure enough, I can't hide it, the God of Forging."

Merlin sighed softly.

He had originally wanted to hide the power of the magic spear, but now it seemed that there was no way to hide it from Hephaestus.

"Ah? Lady Hephaestus, what you mean is that the moment just now wasn't the maximum power of this weapon?"

Welf blinked and asked in disbelief.

"Of course I do. If that's all it has, it's not doing justice to this deep-level demon stone of mine."

Hephaestus grinned and looked at Merlin with confidence.

"So, stop hiding it, Merlin, and show it."

"Yes."

Merlin simply replied and raised the magic spear in his hand again.

"Click."

The sound of mechanical interlacing rang out.

The muzzle split open, expanding more than twice its size. Behind the black muzzle, a terrifying flame flickered.

"Oh!"

Another gunshot rang out, but it was different from the previous fireball.

This time, a terrifying pillar of fire emerged from the muzzle, transforming into a heat ray that blasted straight ahead.

The diameter of the flame ray was nearly half a meter, and the terrifying heat directly penetrated three large trees before dissipating.

Wherever the flame ray passed, it left behind a shallow pit burned by the terrible heat.

At this moment, the air suddenly became quiet, and the only sound that could be heard was the crackling sound of the flames burning the wood.

"Gudu."

Welf swallowed nervously, looking at the scene in front of him in disbelief.

In his sight, the three large trees that required four or five people to hug were easily pierced through.

And it was pierced through at the same time in one breath.

This terrifying power is comparable to that of a second-grade magic sword, and is even very close to that of a first-grade magic sword.

You know, the magic sword itself is more precious than ordinary weapons, and the value of a second-level magic sword is actually close to that of a first-level quality weapon.

And now, he has actually created a weapon of this level.

This naturally shocked Welf again and again.

Hephaestus was also shocked by the scene before her.

"I didn't expect that the power would be several times greater than I imagined."

Hephaestus couldn't help but walked forward, grabbed Merlin's shoulders, looked at Merlin with shining eyes and said.

"How about joining my clan? I'll give you the treatment of a vice-captain. Even with Welf's help, it's still incredibly impressive that you were able to create a weapon like this."

"But most importantly, your amazing way of thinking."

"A magic sword doesn't necessarily have to maintain its sword shape."

"As long as it can unleash its power, any shape is acceptable."

"Your wisdom will be the key to opening up a new era of forging."

Hephaestus said this with great excitement, her eyes filled with desire, as if she wanted to eat Merlin.

Merlin touched his cheek slightly embarrassed by this sincere enthusiasm.

"I'm sorry, Hephaestus, but I already have a Familia. Besides, I'm quite comfortable here, so I don't plan on changing them."

Merlin's words were like a bucket of cold water, which immediately cooled Hephaestus's enthusiasm.

"Ah... do you have a clan now? Ah... really... what a pity... Uh-huh, it's such a pity."

Hephaestus said "what a pity" twice repeatedly.

This shows how much she values ​​Merlin.

"Well, if you change your mind, you can always come to me."

Hephaestus said, patting Merlin's shoulder gently before leaving.

After Hephaestus left, Welf immediately rushed forward and grabbed Merlin's shoulders.

"Merlin, how does this weapon, oh no, it's called the Magic Spear, right? How does it achieve such incredible power?"

"Was it that magic you used earlier? Or..."

Welf's eyes sparkled with intense curiosity and enthusiasm.

It was obvious that the forger's soul in him had been completely ignited.

The power of this magic spear is three times stronger than any magic sword he has ever made.

However, he had no idea how this magic spear could exert such amazing power.

Faced with such enthusiasm from Welf, Merlin rubbed his head and hurriedly made an excuse.

"Ahem, let's talk about this another day. I just have something to do and need to leave first."

"Let's talk about it another day? Oh, what time is that? Let's..."

Welf spoke again and again, looking determined to achieve his goal.

Under such circumstances, Merlin had no choice but to set a time and escape quickly.

Otherwise, you might be stuck here for half a day and unable to leave.

After Merlin left, Welf stood there, stroking his chin with a serious expression, wondering what he was thinking about.

Chapter 21 Plan

Hestia's base, in the basement of the dilapidated temple.

"Merlin, listen to me. I sold a hundred fried potato balls today. Even the stall owner praised me for my excellent work and gave the rest..."

Hestia recounted what happened during the day with a smile on her face.

"Yeah, I see. By the way, Tiaya, after dinner, could you help me update my ability values?"

"Ah, updating your ability values? But it hasn't even been three days since the last update."

"I see. Could it be that you feel that you've become stronger since the last expedition?"

"Alright, alright, I'll update you right away. But don't be too disappointed if your stats don't increase, Merlin. After all, an adventurer's strength can't be improved overnight."

Hephaestus nodded, put down the dishes in her hands, and immediately updated Merlin's ability value.

A few minutes later, Hephaestus's hand holding the paper recording the ability values ​​trembled.

"Huh? No, it's only been two or three days, and your ability value has increased so much?"

"What happened on the last expedition, Merlin? Did your ability double?"

Hestia looked at Merlin in disbelief.

"Well, let me see," Merlin said, taking the paper recording the ability from Hestia with some curiosity and examining it carefully.

[Merlin, Human, LV1]

[Strength 200, Durability 150, Dexterity 300, Agility 260, Magic 400]

[Skill: Alchemy]

"The ability value has increased so much?"

After seeing the updated ability values, Merlin's eyes showed a hint of surprise.

But he soon figured out the reason.

Perhaps it was because he had almost single-handedly killed the silverback ape on the twelfth floor before.

In terms of pure ability value, the gap between him and the silverback ape can be said to be extremely huge.

Because of this, it is not surprising that he gained a huge increase in his ability value according to the so-called great deeds mechanism.

"Ah, I never thought my Merlin was such a genius. After only a week as an adventurer, his ability value has already reached G-level, and his magic value has even reached F-level. This is amazing."

Hestia hugged Merlin excitedly, and her proud big buds pressed against Merlin's head, almost suffocating him.

"Okay, Tiya, please let go. I'm having a hard time breathing."

"Oh sorry, I'm so happy."

“I didn’t expect the progress to be so huge.”

"Well, tonight, even if you act a little naughty, Merlin, I can pretend I didn't see it."

Hestia smiled meaningfully at Merlin.

After hearing this, Merlin touched his nose a little embarrassedly. It seemed that the "prank" he played on Hestia before going to bed that night had also been discovered.

However, now that he had God's special permission, Merlin was naturally a lot bolder tonight.

Soon, in the basement of the temple late at night, there were faint heart-pounding breathtaking sounds, which lasted until the second half of the night.

The next day, Hestia's colleague and part-time friend Takemikazuchi was surprised to discover something strange.

Hestia, who had never been late before, was late today for the first time, and was late for a long time.

When Hestia arrived, Takemikazuchi couldn't help but ask the reason with some concern.

Hestia blushed and said that she didn't sleep well last night.

Although Takemikazuchi expressed doubts about this reason, since the Hestia people were fine, he didn't ask too much.

However, while working, Jian Yulei was somewhat puzzled to find that Hestia always looked at the clothes on her chest strangely, and then her face turned red.

He couldn't understand this strange thing, and finally he could only conclude that Hestia's clothes might be a little dirty, so she was paying so much attention to it.

……

After waking up, Merlin stretched out his body.

"Huh... After releasing some energy, I feel refreshed."

"It's a bit of a shame that Tiaya is too shy and only agrees to... But taking it slow is also fun."

Merlin smiled and immediately got out of bed to think about today's plan.

"With the Silverback Shield and the Magic Spear Wielder, the shallow monsters shouldn't be a problem."

"Then we can try to go to the middle level."

"However... the monsters in the middle layers tend to gather in alarming numbers."